


and i think the city heard

by disasterdrow



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Cities, First Date, Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Song fic, and there was only one bed, based on Mortal City by Dar Williams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-13 07:53:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28650093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disasterdrow/pseuds/disasterdrow
Summary: songfic based on Mortal City by Dar Williams.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	and i think the city heard

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't sure about posting this because it is. very derivative.  
> listen to the song,, it's good 
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/track/5tCJdfnZ31zvsHKUOf3K52?si=-7Ddsg4aR4mMksKLEdfncg

"I never should have come here," said Martin aloud to himself, holding a hand up to the cracked wall and feeling the cold seep in. The icy rain was pelting down outside, freezing black to the roads and pavements, like the whole city was weeping. "I never should have rented this apartment." 

The radiator was broken and the landlord hadn't sent someone to fix it, so an electric heater was providing what little warmth the room had. There was no sofa, just a small table and two chairs in the kitchenette. The radio played softly from the counter beside the sink, giving updates on the ice storm outside. 

Tonight was the first date with the brother of the guy he worked next to, Tim. His name was Jon, he lived a couple of streets away from Martin, and he had interesting things to say, so Martin had asked him over for dinner. He leaned over the stove, enjoying the warmth and the smell of the food, and the radio crackled as it switched back from music to the weather. 

_ and the ice is still coming down hard out there, people, so no one should be driving on those roads or even walking, reall- _

_ -breaking news, this just in: we're asking everyone to turn out their power, they need it at the hospital.  _

Martin looked at the dinner that he'd just finished cooking, sighed and put the lids on the pots. 

He crossed the kitchen to the switch for the stove, flipping it off and unplugging the kettle on the way, then walked through the flat, turning off all the lights and the electric heater. 

He called Jon as he got a stack of extra blankets out, and Jon picked up on the first ring. 

"Maybe we shouldn't meet," offered Martin tentatively. 

_ "I'd rather be with you in the cold and the dark than alone,"  _ said Jon. " _ I don't mind 'braving the streets' for you, if you'll still have me." _

He met Jon at the door with a blanket and a candle. "I heard it on the radio that I had to turn my power off, for the hospital." 

"You're not the only one," said Jon, accepting the blanket and taking off his shoes. "The streets were dark tonight, it was like another century,

with dim lamps and candles lighting up the icy trees, and the clouds, and a covered moon."

_ His voice is like poetry,  _ Martin thought. "Dinner?" he offered out loud. 

They sat side by side at the table, eating spaghetti by candlelight and wrapped up in blankets. Martin gestured as he spoke, "What kind of people make a city where you can't see the sky and you can't feel the ground? I miss trees and wide open fields. And sometimes, I have this feeling that the city's dying."

Jon shook his head, putting down his fork. "It's not the city that's dying, it's the people that live here." 

"Yes, the people that live here are dying and nobody cares." Martin put his fork down, pulling the blanket more tightly around himself. 

"Why did you come here?" said Jon. "Why did you move to the city if you hate it so much?"

"For the job. I moved here for work," Martin found himself saying, "and I've been so lonely here, there is no one I can talk to. I don't even really know your brother." 

Jon smiled and said, "Sometimes at night I walk out by the river. The city's just big and the water turns it upside-down, and there's so many people there, no matter how cold it gets. People found the city because they love other people."

"And think about tonight, too, when I heard the same newscast you did. I unplugged everything, and then I looked out the window, and I think the city heard. I watched as, one by one, the lights went off so they could give their power to the hospital."

They finished their dinner in silence as Martin thought this over, almost-strangers together in a dark room in the city, shifting in their blankets so they wouldn't get spaghetti on them. 

Then came the awkward moment after dinner, deciding what to do. 

"The ice is still falling, the streets are still dangerous," said Martin. "The cabs are still not running, and this neighborhood isn't the greatest." 

They both looked at the place where a sofa should have been, and Martin sighed. "I never should have rented this apartment in the city. The cold comes through every crack I put my hand up to, and the radiator doesn't work, I have to use electric heat." And with the electric heating off, the temperature was still dropping, the apartment getting colder by the hour. 

"You can sleep in my bed," Martin offered, and when Jon blushed, he rushed to explain: "Not like that! Just. It's cold and only getting colder. You can't go home in this storm, and I only have one bed." 

And that settled it, they would both sleep in his bed. Martin brought out T-shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants, socks, and hats - if there was ever any thought of what would happen in that bed tonight, there was no question now. Jon was wearing two of Martin's hand-knit sweaters, both far too big for him, covering his hands. They both climbed into bed together, at first awkwardly but then relaxing, facing each other, listening to the ice coming down outside. Martin could feel Jon's warmth on his face. 

"Tim's not a bad guy," said Jon, "he's just enthusiastic. I think you could be friends. I wish you loved the city like I do." 

Martin replied, "Maybe I do. I think I have a special kind of hearing tonight. I hear the neighbors upstairs. I hear my heart beating, and yours. And I hear one thousand hearts beating at the hospital, alive. And one thousand hearts by their bedsides, waiting for them to wake up, saying: 'This is a person that I love.' "

  
  
  
  



End file.
